Papal Mass
Attending the University of Dayton, a Catholic institution, has provided me with many opportunities to practice and grow in my faith. One such opportunity was attending the Papal Mass on September 27 in Philadelphia. Due to a generous donation from the President, Dr. Dan Curran, the school was able to send one hundred and ten students for a very low cost to the students. When I originally heard about this opportunity, I decided not to go because I was worried about being exhausted for class on the Monday after. However, a couple of friends convinced me to go and I ended up taking one of the last spots on the trip. I may have been stuck on a bus for eighteen hours, walked eleven miles, didn't accomplish any of my homework, and was exhausted for my classes the Monday after, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
Of all the times that I can say that I have been in the presence of the Holy Spirit, I only realized it after the fact while reflecting on the experience. That was not the case for the Papal Mass. The Holy Spirit was very prevalent at the moment There was just this feeling. In his homily, Pope Francis said “Faith opens a ‘window’ to the presence and working of the Spirit. It shows us that, like happiness, holiness is always tied to little gestures”. That couldn’t have been truer for me at this mass. It was our shared faith in Jesus Christ that brought us together to participate in this mass. From where I was located, it was hard to hear the mass at times, but it didn’t matter. I was surrounded by a million other people who were all acting in unison. We didn’t need to hear; we knew exactly what was going on. This feeling will be something that will stick with me for the rest of my life.
Another take away from this experience is how blessed I am for my friends. Without them convincing me to attend, I have never had this amazing experience. God was truly present in my friends as they convinced me to attend. He knew just how great of an experience it would be for me, so he used them to give me the extra nudge that I needed. It is impossible to know exactly what God wants for all of us, but I do know that he works in mysterious ways.
Overall, getting to attend the Papal Mass has given me hope for the future. If there is ever a time that I am feeling any doubt about God, I will just need to look back on this experience. No matter how much stress I may be under due to the amount of homework I have or the various activities that I am involved in, God will always have my back, whether or not I have his, and his love will always bring me back to him and his mercy. That is all I need to know to get through the struggles of life.
Steven Cap, University of Dayton